大
dà
- Pinyin
- dà
- Pinyin (Plain)
- da
- Tone
- 4
- Strokes
- 3
- Radical
- 大
- Readings
- dàdaTone: 4big; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]); greatly; freely; fully; (dialect) father; (dialect) uncle (father's brother)Order: 0Primarydai4daiTone: 4see 大夫[dai4 fu5]Order: 1
- Stroke Order Code
- Speed
- Stroke Order Data
- ["M 494 476 Q 542 485 795 501 Q 817 502 822 512 Q 826 525 808 540 Q 750 580 707 569 Q 631 550 500 522 L 436 509 Q 331 490 213 469 Q 189 465 208 447 Q 241 420 294 432 Q 357 453 431 465 L 494 476 Z", "M 487 437 Q 491 456 494 476 L 500 522 Q 510 711 528 763 Q 534 776 523 786 Q 501 805 459 822 Q 434 832 414 825 Q 390 816 410 796 Q 444 762 444 726 Q 445 602 436 509 L 431 465 Q 398 275 310 179 Q 303 173 297 166 Q 251 118 148 55 Q 133 48 130 43 Q 124 36 144 34 Q 195 34 300 104 Q 385 173 414 218 Q 444 266 480 396 L 487 437 Z", "M 480 396 Q 501 357 575 245 Q 657 124 718 56 Q 746 22 774 22 Q 856 28 928 32 Q 959 33 959 41 Q 960 50 927 66 Q 753 144 719 174 Q 614 267 500 419 Q 493 429 487 437 C 469 461 465 422 480 396 Z"]
- Meaning
- The Chinese character “大” mainly means “big” or “large” in size, degree, or importance. It can also describe adults or older people (e.g., “big brother” for an older brother) and appears in many words related to greatness or magnitude.
- Metadata
- Locale: enCached At: 5/9/2026, 2:28:49 AM
Usage
The character 大 (dà) most commonly means “big” or “large” and is one of the first characters learners meet. It appears on its own in everyday words like 大学 (dàxué, university, literally “big study”), 大家 (dàjiā, everybody), and 大衣 (dàyī, overcoat). It can describe size (大房子 “big house”), age (他比我大 “he is older than me”), or degree/intensity (大问题 “a serious/big problem”). In writing and speech, it often carries the idea of greatness or importance, as in 伟大 (wěidà, great, magnificent). Learners also encounter 大 as the first or second part of many set patterns and fixed expressions. For example, in time-related phrases such as 大前天 / 大后天 in some regions (two days before/after the day before/after yesterday/tomorrow), and in social titles like 大夫 (dàifu, doctor, in spoken Mandarin) historically connected to “great man.” It’s also a common component in other characters and words (like 天, 太, or 犬 being visually related in some learning materials), so textbooks often highlight its simple, pictographic shape—originally resembling a person with arms stretched out—to help remember both the form and the idea of “bigness” or expansiveness.
Handwriting Notes
大 is a simple, open-shaped character that usually looks like a person standing with arms outstretched: a vertical line in the center, with two diagonal strokes extending downwards to the left and right. In normal handwriting, it tends to be slightly wider than it is tall, with the central vertical stroke clearly longer than the side strokes so the whole character feels balanced and stable. The angles of the side strokes can be more or less slanted depending on the writer’s style, and in fast writing the ends may curve or hook slightly, or the lines may become looser and more flowing, but the basic “one long middle line plus two spreading arms” structure stays very clear. Because the form is so simple and distinctive, AI handwriting recognition systems, such as those in dictionary apps or input methods on phones and tablets, can usually recognize 大 reliably even when it’s written a bit quickly or casually, as long as that three-part structure and overall proportion are roughly preserved.
Description
“大” is a common Chinese character meaning “big,” “large,” or “great.” It is used both on its own (as in 大人 “adult”) and in many compound words (like 大学 “university”). Its basic pronunciation in Mandarin is “dà” (fourth tone).